Chapter Ten

The Spy (Part One)

The grand plaza of Seiryu city was as empty as every other day since the Paladin had come, bereft of not even a single Digimon that would normally be occupying it. Before the Paladin had arrived, the plaza was normally bustling, whether it be with Digimon traversing it on their daily errands, or with Digimon simply sitting on one of its benches to enjoy a moment of peace in the sunlit effervescence of the bright reds and blues that made up the buildings surrounding it.

Today, and every other day since the Paladin had arrived though, naught but the sound of wind graced the brick walkways of the plaza.

And the Paladin preferred it that way. The near silence of the area was just the salve he needed for the dull ache throbbing at the base of his skull, seemingly pulling at his eyes with no retreat in sight, making it all the harder to stare through the muddy gray vision of his helmet.

He honestly wished he could have just stayed home that day, but the Digital World needed him, and he wasn't going to let his duty fall to the wayside, regardless of how much hurt he had to endure.

He stopped near the center of the plaza, his downcast gaze catching a glimpse of the marble-like structure's base before him. His scowl deepened and he forced himself to look up.

The bright glare of the nearly completed structure worsened his headache, actually forcing him to close one of his eyes.

The first of many, the Holy Steeple, towering above Seiryu city, spearing the sky in its stalwart show of dominance. At its top, the corners of the steeple converged into a pyramid shape, where if one looked close, one could see faint lines of static occasionally arcing through the air, followed by strange ripples.

The Paladin paid the static jolts no mind. He already knew they were to be expected due to what the steeples were made of. His focus was instead on the small slot in the steeple at his eye level.

He stepped towards the slot, his chest tightening each meter he came closer to it.

It wasn't much different from the kind of cartridge slot one would find in a gaming system of our world. Claw like prongs from the bottom, left, and right waited for the object of activation to be placed, with tiny lines of static leaping from their sharp points, giving the opening the appearance of a hungry beast swishing its tongue around impatiently.

A garish design choice to be sure, but one the Paladin felt necessary.

Even though staring into it filled him with a great sense of dread.

Don't lose heart now, TK… His hand went down to his waist, where he pulled his D3 from his armor. Whatever pain may be coming your way will be worth it in the end, as long as it safeguards this area.

Fwoosh!

The Paladin's jaw tightened further in response to the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

"Lord Paladin," The newcomer reported amongst a small twister of twirling leaves.

The Paladin deigned only to turn his head. "Renamon," He confirmed once he saw the yellow, white, and purple vulpine Digimon kneeling a few paces behind him. "Have you anything to report from your latest reconnaissance?"

Renamon shook her head, opening her startingly blue eyes as she replied to the question. "I'm afraid little has changed since our last report, my lord," She said. "Following our discovery of the battle at Divermon's lake, no additional signs of the resistance have been found. They seem to be hiding."

The Paladin sneered and turned back to the steeple. "Of course they are," He rumbled. "What else would they be doing other than hiding like the rats they are?"

His fingers grew white around his D3 whilst he thought of them, the ones who dared to try and stop the age of peace and prosperity he sought to bring to the Digital world.

Worse yet, the fact that Kari, his companion, his very partner in destiny was allied with them only made him all the more rage-fille. How could she not sympathize with what he was doing? What on either world had led her to take leave of her senses like she clearly had?

"My lord," Renamon spoke up again. "My comrades and I await your next orders? Is there anything you require of us at this next moment?"

The Paladin forced himself to take a deep breath, trying in vain to dispel both his anger and the pulsing in his head. "Feel free to take a reprieve, all of you," He said, bringing his other hand to rub his fingers to his temple. "Just be back before General Crowmon arrives."

Renamon blinked owlishly, then stood up. "General Crowmon? He's coming here? What of General Rapidmon?"

The Paladin winced from a sudden spike in his headache, and he whirled around. "That is none of your concern!" He barked. "Now begone before I rescind my granted reprieve for you!"

Renamon appeared unbothered by the outburst. She just closed her eyes and offered the Paladin a polite bow. "As you wish, my lord."

Then, with a rustle of wind and the sudden appearance of another flurry of phantasmal leaves, she was gone, leaving the Paladin alone once more.

As such, the Paladin turned back to the steeple, trying to distract himself from his aches and pains with his thoughts.

The nerve of Renamon, questioning the whereabouts of one of his Generals. What business of it was hers? None whatsoever, that's what it was.

Besides, it wasn't like he was in any danger; Rapidmon was just taking a reprieve, some time to collect himself so that he wouldn't fail the Paladin again like he'd done with the escapees that went through Divermon's lake.

The Paladin's chest tightened again as he eyed the slot within the steeple's harsh white stone.

What was a little pain when it came to growth? After all…

Even the Paladin was willing to endure pain for the good of the Digital World.

Yolei still wasn't very used to the various motions and tossings that came with traveling from Earth and the Digital world. The myriad of spiraling colors that came with being yanked and pulled in what felt like a dozen directions more often than not left the poor girl needing a moment to collect herself upon arriving, lest she find herself bent over a trashcan getting reacquainted with her lunch from a few hours prior.

Today wasn't much different, made most evident in Yolei finding herself leaning against the computer console she and her partner had landed next to, dry heaving and taking several desperate gasps to try and keep the tuna surprise in her stomach.

"There, there, dear girl, just breathe for me now."

Fortunately for Yolei, coming to the Digital World meant Poromon transforming back into Hawkmon; and Hawkmon, as it turned out, was more than willing to rub his ailing partner's back in times of such intestinal distress.

"Deep breaths, Yolei," Hawkmon soothed, his feathery arms imparting some welcome warmth onto Yolei's back. "Just a little bit of fresh air, and you'll be all better."
Yolei had to resist laughing at Hawkmon's choice of words. The last thing she'd call the dingy, musty air of the underground base she'd been frequenting on and off for the past week and half was "fresh".

Still, Hawkmon was right in that a few deep breaths were just the remedy she needed. After her stomach stopped seizing within her, she was able to stand to her feet, unsteadily yes, but stately.

"Ah, there you are!" Hawkmon said, a smile coming across his beaked face. "Feeling better?"

Yolei nodded, reaching down to grab the plastic bags she had brought with her from her family's convenience store. "Yeah, a little bit," She admitted. She offered her partner what she hoped to be an encouraging grin of her own. "Ready to get suited up?"

"If by suiting up, you mean I wait outside while you get your armor on, then I'm more than ready," Hawkmon agreed with a chuckle.

The two of them journeyed out of the computer room, going into one of the other tunnels that led into the branching pathways of the base, with the two of them stopping by the Mess Hall on the way.

"Impmon! Guilmon!" Hawkmon called out for the two kitchen masters of the group. "We have a delivery for you!"

The kitchen door burst open, revealing Guilmon sprinting out to them in dash of excitement.

"Yoleimon's here!" Guilmon exclaimed. "Did you bring food? Did you, did you, did you!?"

Hawkmon chuckled, "Guilmon, when have we not brought you food thus far?"

"How about all those times before we met you," Guilmon joked, leaning forward to press his nose into one of the bags Yolei held.

"Well forgive me for being stuck in a digimental for all those times," Hawkmon humorously huffed.

"I'll forgive you if you guys brought me some of those peanut butter filled breads!" Guilmon said.

"I'm more partial to those weird fruit breads." Impmon said, strolling out from the kitchen. "You wouldn't happen to have some of those on you, would ya, toots?"

Yolei's eyes flashed, "Depends…Wanna call me by something else? My actual name, perhaps?"

Impmon would've snarked back had it been Kari, but in the face of Yolei, he actually shrank back. "Um, what I meant to say was, do you have any fruit bread, Yolei?"

Yolei nodded without a word, keeping her stern face, but kneeling down to hand Impmon the bags, "There's a few in there of both. Just make sure to share everything evenly with everyone else. Especially that Crabmon that came back with Davis last week."

Impmon frowned and took the bags, "I'll try. The guy won't eat much more than a few scraps at a time. All he does is just stare at the ground anytime we go to check on him."

Yolei bit her lip, the mental image of the little despondent blue and gray crab crossing across her mind. "Well, we just need to give him a little time then, don't we?"

Impmon clicked his tongue, "Eh, let's just hope it ain't too much more. Kumamon and Floramon are already pulling their weight around here, and the more hands we have, the less me and Red gotta do."

Hawkmon rolled his eyes, "How very noble of you, Impmon."

"Are any of the others here today?" Yolei asked.

"Eh, Davy-boy and Kari-girl are off doing their extracurricular-thingies today," Impmon replied, carrying the bags over to set them on a table. "I personally don't know what those are, but apparently Ken's fine with letting them do them." He heaved them over his head and spilled the contents of the bags onto the table, "It's only our world on the line, I'm sure whatever they're doing is tons more important…"

"Hey," Yolei huffed. "We need to try and stick to the routines we had before we started coming here to avoid making our parents suspicious, remember?" She stood up to her full height and set her hands on her hips. "If you think we're not here enough already, just see what'll happen if we're found out." She bit her lip, "I for one know my folks wouldn't let me outta my room until I was at least thirty if that happened…"

"Goodness, that's the last thing we need," Hawkmon said. He placed a feathery digit against his cheek, "I already spent several thousand years inside that digimental, I certainly don't want more time stuck in a small enclosed space."

"What about Cody and Ken?" Yolei asked.

"Codymon's helping Musyamon in the armory," Guilmon answered, gulping down a sizeable chomp of peanut butter bread with a gleeful grin. "And Kenmon's meeting with some of the older kids down in the central hub."

Yolei quirked an eyebrow when she heard what Ken was doing, or rather, who he was meeting up with. "The older Digidestined are here?" She asked.

"Sure are!" Guilmon replied in a cheery vibrato.

The official meet and greet between the veteran Digidestined and the new group had taken place two days after Davis had acquired his crest weapon, a meeting that had taken a while to put together thanks largely in part to the various scheduling conflicts everyone had (especially so with Joe). When they had finally met, a good chunk of that initial meeting was spent with the two groups simply getting to know one another. Even the Digimon partners of the two groups got in on the greetings, with the little seal-like Digimon named Gomamon procuring a "special" type of punch strictly for the Digimon themselves.

Nobody had been told what was in the punch, but since Yolei had to carry a red-cheeked Poromon back to her house that night, she had a faint inkling on what it could have been.

Still, it had been a pleasant enough meeting all things considered; one in which the two groups had felt as part of a single unified team by the end of it.

At least, that's what was intended. But Yolei couldn't help but feel that this wasn't the case, at least not entirely. True, most of the elder Digidestined had welcomed the new recruits with open arms; in fact, Yolei found herself hitting it off quite well with a girl by the name of Sora. Perhaps the commonality in their partners being birds played a role in addition to their shared crests, but Yolei found the warmth she seemed to exude comforting.

It was quite different when compared the boy who kept company with her.

For being the apparent Digidestined of Friendship, Matt Ishida sure held a sharp coldness in his disposition. Even his cheerful and amiable partner, Gabumon did little to assuage the discomforting aura he gave off.

And that was without mentioning the cold stoniness of his eyes. Yolei was no stranger to daydreaming about young men with dazzling blue eyes, but despite the deep azure of Matt's eyes, she couldn't see anything but harsh judgement in the depths of his cobalt gaze.

Yeah, she didn't like him; triply so when she found him grilling Ken over his activities in the Digital World not long after.

"Hawkmon," Yolei said, her fists curling upward. "What say the two of us go and meet up with Ken and the others? See what they're talking about?"

Hawkmon turned back to Yolei, a yogurt pouch held to his smiling beak. "I have no qualms in doing so," He replied, sauntering up to her. He smirked up at her knowingly. "But you'll have to forgive me if I sense an ulterior motive in your reasoning, Yolie," He added in a mischievous whisper.

Yolei's cheeks dusted pink, and she turned on her heel to face away from Hawkmon. "I have no idea what you're talking about," She mumbled, marching her way out of the Mess Hall like a toy soldier.

Hawkmon chortled and looked back to Guilmon and Impmon. "Looks like I must be off then. Guilmon, Impmon, I look forward to our next meeting."

"Bye bye, Hawkmon!" Guilmon chimed. "Come back soon!"

"Yeah, don't be a stranger, feathers," Impmon muttered from his place within the bag of goodies.

Hawkmon shook his head bemusedly, and with another slurp from his yogurt, turned around and followed after Yolei.

Ken had to internally fight tooth and nail to resist rubbing his fingers along the temples of his head.

"So how come we're still hiding down here?" Tai looked just as tense as he did, his arms crossed tightly across his chest and his foot tapping incessantly.

Agumon raised his claws towards the ceiling, "Yeah! It's been nearly two weeks since I've seen the sunshine! When are we gonna head up!?"

A pink bird Digimon by the name of Biyomon raised a wing over the top of the small circular table that was kept in the center of the room. "Take it from me, Agumon, you're not missing much. It seems like anywhere you go, it's either a ghost town because you've got Paladin forces traipsing around, or it's a ghost town because the Digimon there are trying to avoid attracting the Paladin's forces."

Sora's eyes dulled, "That sounds horrible. Everyone's too scared to even come out…"

Tai gave the table a bop with his fist, "All the more reason we should be up there!"

Izzy peeked over his laptop, his lips curling into a frown of concern. "Normally I'm against taking the offensive without a carefully constructed plan beforehand, but looking at this data you've given me, along with the information those Digimon Davis brought in have given us; shouldn't we do something while the Paladin is close?"

Tentomon buzzed onto the table, peering over at Izzy's laptop screen, "I suppose there is something to be said about striking while the iron's hot; though I for one can't understand heads or tails of what I'm seeing here."

Ken let a faint huff pass through his lips, his eyes closing as he searched for the strength to explain once again why he was being hesitant in their next move. The feel of one of Wormmon's claws gently tapping against his cheek gave him the resolve to continue, and he opened them once more.

"I for one am all for going after the Paladin."

Before Ken could speak however, someone cut him off, the last Digidestined at the table, the Digidestined of Friendship.

Matt leaned forward, his expression stony and his jaw set firmly in his resoluteness. "I'm completely willing to take this fight right up to him," He said in a low growl. "Because I promised TK I would help find Patamon for him. And I'd bet everything to my name that the Paladin is the reason for his disappearance."

Besides Matt, his partner, a creature garbed in a blue-striped wolfpelt by the name of Gabumon, shook his head morosely. "I wish I could disagree, but as I've been spent a great deal of time looking for Patamon myself, I can't think of much else in terms of where to look next."

"Then let's get to it and knock that creep right out of his armor!" Tai cried, leaping to his feet.

Ken's eyes widened and he stood up from his place at the opposite side of the table, "But we c—"

THUNK! "Hey, everyone!"

All heads at the table turned towards the sudden intrusion to find Yolei and Hawkmon standing at the threshold of one of the many doors that lined the walls of the central hub room. She was garbed in her armor, and upon the orange leather of her helmet the purple bloom symbol gleamed in the two lanterns that bordered the top corners of the door.

Ken gulped, his heart skipping a beat in his chest before he spoke, "Y-Yolei. You've arrived."

Yolei nodded and began strolling out to the center table in earnest. "Sure have!" She chimed, coming to a stop besides Ken's seat. "And I heard that you guys were having a meeting. Mind if Hawkmon and I join?"

"Oh! Uhh—"

"Of course!" Sora spoke up when she saw Ken lose his voice for a second and gestured to a seat right beside her. "Come take a seat by Biyomon and me!"

Yolei lit up at the invitation, and went over to take a spot besides her crest-sharer. "Thanks!" Once she and Hawkmon were settled, she faced the rest of the group. "So what are we talking about?"

"We were just discussing the need for a plan of attack on the Paladin," Matt said in a cool staccato.

Ken snapped back from his temporary loss of senses brought upon by Yolei's arrival. "We can't do that yet!" He profusely objected. "We still don't know just what the Paladin's doing over in Seiryu city yet!"

"Well what better way to find out than by going there and dealing with him?" Tai countered. "It'd do more than just having us sit around here!"

Ken's heart began to ring in his ears. "It could also put us all in unnecessary risk!" He countered in a rapidly aggressing tone.

"Risk-schmisk! I once faced down Devimon in nothing more than my underwear!" Tai retorted. "You think I'm gonna let some guy in shiny threads scare me, not a chance!"

"I second that," Matt piled on. "You seem to forget that we defeated the Dark Masters, Ken. In comparison to that, you'll have to forgive us for not feeling very intimidated by this Digital Paladin."

Ken's jaw clenched even tighter, "The Digital Paladin is nothing like anything you've faced before…"

"Yet you've done very little to inform us just what he's capable of or has done." Sora's voice was soft in her reply to Ken. When Ken looked to her, the sheer gentle understanding so obvious in her countenance forced his jaw to relax somewhat. "If you'd just tell us the smallest amount of what you're so afraid of, we'd be able to understand where you're coming from."

Yolei's jaw dropped, to which Hawkmon reached up and promptly closed with his wing. She couldn't believe Sora had done what she'd just did. Ken had looked like a lion ready to pounce not two seconds beforehand, yet through Sora's calm veneer, he had been brought back down to his usual calm, if not a little too straightlaced self.

I seriously need to ask her to teach me how to do that, She thought.

Ken meanwhile bit his cheek, trying to suppress the shame smoldering in his chest from his outburst. He really had to get some sort of hold over his temper.

"Well? We're waiting?" Unfortunately for him (And Yolei), Matt was far less gentle in his pursuit of additional information.

Ken closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath as he sought out the best way to say what he didn't want to say.

"HEY BOSS!"

Before he could, however, a fluttering of wings paired with a twangy voice interrupted him; and all those at the table glanced up towards the darkened ceiling just in time to see Demidevimon flutter down to them.

"Ah!" Sora yelped and kicked herself back a scotch, fright marring her fair features.

Biyomon was quick to lay a pink wing against her side. "It's okay, Sora!" She said, patting her darker pink digits against her. "This isn't the same Demidevimon as before, remember?"

Sora blinked, returning her pinprick pupils to normal before relaxing in her seat. "Oh…Right…" She mumbled. Her shoulders bunched up slightly and she gave the little bat Digimon a bow of her head, "Sorry about that, Demidevimon."

Demidevimon raised a tattered wing towards Sora in a kindly dismissive motion, "Ah, don't worry about it," He assured. He turned to face Ken, "Anyways, I came here to report something to you, boss."
Ken gave Demidevimon a taciturn nod and leaned forward with his chin over his interlocked fingers, "Report away then."

Demidevimon hopped a tiny hop towards Ken, looking somewhat like a sparrow on his little gray and red talons. "We just got a report from Agent 003. She says she's gotta see you right away for something."

Ken's stoniness shifted towards surprise. "Agent 003?" He parroted, sitting up. "She wishes to meet up? What for? Our next meeting isn't scheduled for another week."

Demidevimon gave his best interpretation of a shrug, "Beats me. She just says she has to see you right away."

Wormmon leaned into Ken's periphery, "Sounds important, Ken."

"Who's Agent 003?" Yolei pulled Ken's attention off of Wormmon and Demidevimon, catching his gaze in hers when their eyes met.

Ken bit his cheek and looked down with a grimace. "She's…an agent to our cause. One of our more elite members who helps to keep tabs on the Paladin's activities."

A small chill took form in Yolei's stomach, an iceberg of fear seemingly cresting from the sea of anxiety she already felt in the pit of her being.

"Wait, seriously?!"

"You're keeping more stuff from us!?"

Tai and Matt voiced Yolei's surprise and disapproval in her stead, their faces simultaneously scrunching up into scowls with the collective slams of their fists on the table.

Ken was quick to match their indignation in kind, jumping from his seat and placing a fist against his chest. "It isn't like that," He said defensively. "It's not that I haven't told you, I simply just haven't gotten around to telling you."

"Haven't gotten around to telling us!?" Matt barked.

"How much stuff are you keeping from us, Ken!?" Tai exclaimed.

"You really aren't giving us a lot of reason to trust you," Matt growled. He leaned forward on his palms, his scowl morphing into an expression of bitter distrust. "How do we even know you're actually someone we wanna ally ourselves with?"

"Matt!" Sora gasped.

"I'm only saying what we've all been thinking in the back of our minds," Matt hotly retorted, glaring at Ken like he was facing down a wolf who had just thrown off the cloak of a sheep. "What do we know about this guy? That he's been fighting for the supposed benefit of the Digimon? Leading the charge with a bunch of shady tactics and secrets; all while leaving us out of the loop?"

He glowered at Ken further, "Hell, how do we know he wouldn't sell us up the river as a part of his plans?"

Those words sent something through Ken, something akin to a shockwave that not only made his bones feel like stone, but also seemed to knock his ears capacity to hear into nothing but white noise.

"He would never do something like that!" Yolei's passionate rebuttal was the jumpstart that brought back Ken's senses though, and with them restored, he was able to turn away from Matt in favor of her.

Yolei's eyes were ablaze with righteous fury, not only matching, but exceeding Matt's ire in the way she stood to face him.

"You may have not known Ken very long, but I have!" She spat while jamming a thumb to her chest, "And I know for an absolute fact that everything he does, both here and anywhere else comes from a place of total goodness, because that's what Ken is!"

She glanced around at everyone around the table before stopping at Ken.

"A good person…" She affirmed, averting her eyes with a blush.

A moment of awkward silence passed after Yolei's declaration, leaving both her and Ken staring down at their laps with twiddling fingers and pink cheeks.

"Well…" Izzy broke the silence after a few keystrokes on his laptop. "Good to hear, Yolei." He cleared his throat and looked over the top of his laptop again. "Still, a little more transparency would be appreciated in the future, Ken. A team only works if there's trust after all."

"Of course," Ken replied with a gulp.

"Any chance we can go to meet with this spy of yours?" Tai asked.

Ken's fingers clenched in his lap. "I'm afraid that's not possible," He said, keeping his sights down on his lap. "Due to the nature of Agent 003's mission, discretion is needed to ensure—"

Matt cut through Ken's response with an abrasive click of his tongue, "Figures, he has an excuse prepared. I'm guessing you have to go alone then?"

Ken's shoulders tensed against his neck, "Well—"

"Of course he won't be going alone!" However, before Ken could confirm his intentions, Hawkmon spoke up with a bombastic rebuttal of his own. "Yolei and I will be going with Ken and Wormmon!"

Both Ken and Yolei jolted at Hawkmon's proclamation, while Wormmon just tilted his head endearingly.

"You will?" Biyomon asked.

We will? Yolei thought perplexedly.

"Why of course!" Hawkmon confirmed, bringing himself on top of the table with a flap of his wings. "You see, shortly after the incident that brought about Davis' crest weapon, Ken came up to us and requested we accompany him on any expeditions he would undertake in order to possibly facilitate the appearance of Yolei's crest weapon!"

A mischievous glint that Ken could not miss came over Hawkmon when he turned to him. "I am recalling that event correctly, aren't I, Ken?" He queried in a falsely amiable tone.

Ken hid both a scowl and a smirk behind his lips. Clever bird, He thought sardonically. "That's correct, Hawkmon," He conceded. He looked over at the other Digidestined. "Yolei and Hawkmon will be coming with me. Because of that, we will not be needing anyone else. Discretion is a matter of utmost importance in matters such as these."

"Makes sense," Izzy said, putting a hand to his chin. "Espionage does require a sense of security for all parties involved after all."

"Yes, very much so," Ken hastily agreed. He stood to his feet, gathering Wormmon in his arms and avoiding eye contact with Matt, "Which means that we should really get going. Yolei, Hawkmon, would you please meet me at the exitway in about five minutes?"

Yolei nodded, herself acutely aware of Ken's fidgety behavior. What she'd give to kick Matt where the sun didn't shine in that moment.

"Yeah," She said instead. "We'll be there."

Ken gave Yolei a grateful smile, "Then meeting adjourned, everyone."

"That was some pretty quick thinking on your part there, Hawkmon." Yolei turned back to face her partner, an approving smile gracing her lips while she continued walking backwards.

Hawkmon tilted his beak up with a haughty smirk, "Well it certainly beats slow thinking, doesn't it? Had I not been so quick, who knows what would've happened to Ken during that meeting."

Yolei nodded in agreement, "You're telling me…" She bit her lip and turned back so she was facing the darkening tunnels ahead of them. "The others were like sharks on a guppy back there…" She let out a huff of irritation through her nostrils, "Matt especially."

She took a quick breath to quell her temper and focused her attention back on Hawkmon, "Thankfully you were there to help. Thank you, Hawkmon."

Hawkmon's deep blue eyes glittered, and he stepped a few paces past Yolei, his feathered arms crossed over his chest. "No need to thank me, Yolei my dear. I was just happy to lend a feather to you."

Yolei quirked an eyebrow, "Whaddya mean 'lend a feather to me'?"

"Well, the standard colloquial expression is 'lend a hand', but since I am a bird Digimon I thought it best to—"

"I know what you meant by the expression!" Yolei impatiently interjected. She stepped in front of Hawkmon and crouched down to his level. "What do you mean when you said you were helping me?"

Hawkmon closed his eyes and simply walked around Yolei, beaming with a self-satisfied smile. "Yolei, while I had no desire to simply let Ken flounder about, the main reason I stepped in was because you were beginning to look quite distraught in there." He stopped and turned on his heel. "And I couldn't have that now, could I? What kind of partner would I be if I let the apple of your eye come under harm?"

Yolei had to take a moment to absorb Hawkmon's words. When they sunk in, her pupils shrank and her face became the color of a rose.

"That isn't—He isn't—You don't know—"

Hawkmon chuckled to himself and turned back around, "Now, now Yolei, we mustn't keep Ken and Wormmon waiting now. Chop-chop!"

Yolei jolted and followed after Hawkmon with a click of her tongue. "Hey! What are you doing giving me orders?"

"One of us needs to be the one giving them!" Hawkmon guffawed.

"Are we all clear, Wormmon?" Ken asked.

Wormmon brought his head back into the interior of the hiding tree. "As clear as our morning tea, Ken!" He jovially replied.

"You guys have tea in the morning?" Hawkmon queried as he and Yolei followed the two out. "That sounds delightful! Yolei, we should start doing that ourselves!"

Yolei rolled her eyes bemusedly. "I'll start grabbing you a bottle from the store in the mornings," She agreed. She peered up at the forest canopy, blocking the sunlight with her hand pressed across her forehead. "So where are we headed, Ken? Not the Protocol Forest again, right?"

"Fortunately no," Ken replied. "According to DemiDevimon, we are to rendezvous with Agent 003 on the forest outskirts. In a spot known as the Misty Glade."

"Sounds downright mystical," Hawkmon said.

"It has its charms," Wormmon confirmed. "Mostly because of how damp the air is. Feels good for someone like me."

"Not a fan of dry places?" Yolei asked.

"I need to keep a wet towel on hand whenever we go into the desert," Ken chuckled.

"I'm glad you find the idea of Wormmon-jerky humorous, Ken," Wormmon huffed.

"Well the beef jerky at Yolei's store is pretty tasty," Hawkmon remarked.

"We're done talking about this," Wormmon groused, his head turning up with another huff.

Yolei trotted up a few steps ahead of Ken, "So is this place very far?"

"Not really," Ken replied while leading them between a bough of trees. "Only about twenty minutes from here." He slinked between the trees, gesturing for his companions to follow quickly. "That being said, we should still try and be quick about this. The less time we spend out here, the better."

Yolei bit her lower lip, hunkering down with Ken. "Yeah, I suppose," She agreed in a whisper. "Are you worried about any Paladin troops around here?"

"Ken just likes to be cautious," Wormmon answered for him. "We have plenty of Digimon keeping an eye on things around here." He raised a single purple nail to tap the top of Ken's head. "Now if only Ken could trust the intel they give us."

Ken clicked his tongue, "It's not that I don't trust them, it's just—"

"Ken, have you ever heard the phrase, 'No mon is an island'?" Hawkmon leapt downward, sliding down a hill of clovers towards a lower depression where the shade of the trees was much more dominant. "Judging by what all your colleagues think of you, I think it's one you should familiarize yourself with."

"Hawkmon!" Yolei chastised.

Ken sighed and took a few steps down the hill. "No, he's right," He said. "I'm not oblivious to the friction my secrecy has brought about."

Yolei gulped, "You were telling the truth earlier, right? About you just forgetting to tell us about this spy of yours." She grimaced as she took her first tiny steps down the hill. There was a fine sheet of dew on the clovers, making the footing less than solid.

"I was." Ken stopped at the base of the hill, frowning distastefully when the memory of the meeting flashed across his mind, "Not one of my best moments, admittedly."

Yolei's grimace softened into a pout, and she hopped down alongside Ken. "I don't blame you," She said. "You have a ton on your mind."

"A ton that he could lessen the weight of should he spread the difference among us!" Hawkmon sang.

The urge to chide him again crossed Yolei's mind, but that seemed pointless given the roll he was on.

"He makes a good point, Ken," Wormmon added. "You could stand to share a few of your troubles with our friends."

Ken scoffed and continued onward with a wry grin, "Hey. Who started allowing Daisuke to help out in the kitchens with Impmon and Guilmon? I think risking food poisoning is a pretty trusting move on my part if you ask me."

"I like his food," Wormmon said amiably. "Who knew apples could be spicy?"

"Be that as it may…" Yolei trotted alongside Ken. "Can't you trust us with a little more than that?" She leaned forward, appraising Ken with her russet toned eyes. "You trust me, right?"

A flush of heat spread across Ken's cheeks, and his stomach did a little jump within him in response.

"I'd say he's already showing trust in us!" Hawkmon reclaimed their attention from his spot a few paces up. When the three of them looked up at him, he stood a little taller, his feathery claws settling on his hips. "After all, we're on this trip with him, aren't we, Yolei?"

Yolei blinked. Then, her face lit up and she stood a little taller herself, "That's right!" She looked at Ken, a giddy smile gracing her lips. "We are here with you!" Her smile grew toothier and she gave Ken a hard pat on the back, "And you know what, Ken? By the end of this, I'll prove to you that you can trust me with a lot more!"

A cluster of butterflies took form in Ken's stomach at Yolei's proclamation, swarming up and down his body when he beheld the unbridled zeal so evident on her expression, leaving him to croak out only a single response.

"I'm sure you will…"

"You two were really on the war path in there, you know that, right?" Sora glared at her fellow Digidestined, arms crossed over her chest and a disapproving pout marring her usually gentle expression. Beside her, Biyomon replicated the pose, her dark pink talons gleaming from the lightbulb hanging above them, but her adorable pink beak downplaying any attempt at being intimidating.

Tai averted his eyes. "Sorry," He mumbled. His foot began tapping anxiously, "I guess I was just caught off guard." He bit his lip, "I don't like the idea of Ken keeping secrets from us."

Agumon set a claw against Tai's side, "I don't think Ken was keeping any secrets from us, Tai. I believe him when he says it just slipped his mind. Us Digimon knew about the spies as well, after all."

Tai looked down at Agumon, "You did?"

Agumon nodded, "I did, and you don't think I'd keep secrets from you, do you?"

Tai smiled and brought a hand to rub the top of Agumon's head, "No way."

A scoff from Matt cut through the moment, yanking the attention of the two Digidestined and their Digimon onto him.

Sora's frown deepened. "And I'm guessing you have more to say on the subject?" She asked.

"We shouldn't be wasting our time down here," Matt muttered. "We've handled tons of evil Digimon before. What makes this kid think he knows better than us on the subject?"

"But Matt." Gabumon was quick to protest. "The Digital Paladin isn't a Digimon. He's a human. And a very strong one at that!"

"I don't care how strong he is!" Matt said impetuously. "He can't be anything worse than anything we've faced before."

"And on what information have you made that conclusion?" Sora asked pointedly.

Matt scowled, "How about the fact that we took on Myotismon? Or the Dark Masters? What about Diaboromon? You really think the Digimon that almost nuked us can compare to some punk kid trying to live out some power fantasy?"

Sora groaned and threw her hands into the air. "You know what? I'm not in the mood to deal with you when you're like this. Tai, see if you can talk some sense into him, would you?"

Tai jolted at the sudden responsibility given to him. "Wai-what? What am I supposed to s—"

Before Tai could even finish though, Sora and Biyomon had already left, gone into the darkened hallways of the underground base once more.

Tai could only groan at the sudden turn of events. He knew there was no point in arguing with Sora. The last time he had done so, he had wound up having to deal with Diaboromon. Sure the events were in no way correlated with one another, but why risk it with the way the Digital world was?

"Ridiculous…" Matt muttered tersely.

Plus, why would he want to deal with two angry friends?

Tai took a quick breath, trying to find some place to start in the conversation to come.

"So…" He looked between where Matt was and where Sora had left. "Trouble in paradise with you two?"

"Hilarious, Tai," Matt growled, standing up from the wall he was leaning against and sauntering towards the exit himself.

"Matt, wait." Tai grabbed him by the shoulder before he could leave. "What's your deal?"

Matt scowled at Tai, "Whaddya think? I'm going out to take that Paladin down."

Tai bit his cheek, "Matt, normally I'm all for rushing out and saving the digital world fast and simple, but you usually like to think about these things first. Seriously, what's up?"

Matt didn't answer Tai, but to bearer of Courage's relief, he stayed put.

"C'mon dude." Tai gave his shoulder a jostle. "Just tell me what's got you acting crabbier than usual. You know you're gonna spill sometime anyway."

Matt's fists clenched at his side and Tai heard him take a sharp breath of his own. "The first time we came here to meet Ken, I asked TK if he wanted to come along. You know what he said to me?"

"That the ride from Tamachi to Odaiba is kind of a drag?" Tai guessed dryly.

Matt shook his head, "No. He told me—" He had to take a moment to go on, his voice strained when did, "—That he didn't deserve to come. That because he hadn't been there to stop whatever caused Patamon to disappear, that he had no right to come into the Digital world."

"Matt…" Tai's hand dropped from his shoulder. "That's…I don't know what to say."

"Well I know what I'm going to do," Matt said, taking another step away from Tai. "I'm going to find that Paladin. I'm willing to bet he's behind whatever happened to Patamon. And if I have to knock his head around to find out, I'm perfectly fine with doing so…for TK."

Tai couldn't find anything to say to that.

"Then I'm willing to help, too!" Gabumon trotted up to Matt. "If you want to go into battle, then I'm right there with you, Matt!"

Matt offered his partner a small smile as thanks and then turned back to Tai. "What about you, Tai?" He asked. "Do you want to get this over and done with, too? I know you'd prefer that over us wasting our time down here."

Tai's fingers twitched, unsteady with his indecision.

"Tai?" Then, Agumon spoke, pulling Tai's attention down to him with a gentle tug of his shirt. "We are stronger together."

And thus, Tai was faced with a decision he had not expected to make on that day.

And what choice would the Digidestined of Courage make? All who knew him would know in a millisecond.

Especially if they saw the faint orange glow his digivice exuded.

The Misty Glade more than lived up to its name. In its strange dark blue hues, as if the wood was mired in perpetual early evening, Yolei could scarcely see more than two feet in front of her in the thick miasma of the fog.

"Ken?" She swiped her hands through the air in a futile effort to dispel the mist, shivering when it only seemed to cling to her all the more obstinately because of it. "Hawkmon? Are you still there?"

"I'm right beside you, Yolei," Hawkmon replied, appearing from the fog besides her, his head being the only thing she could see of him.

"And Wormmon and I are right over here," Ken spoke up from a few feet in front of them.

Hawkmon let out a cross-sounding "harumph" sound and Yolei just knew he was crossing his arms. "Well you could certainly fool me," He said. "Goodness it'll be a miracle if we find our way out of this place when we're finished here!"

"I wouldn't worry about that." Wormmon spoke up next. "Ken and I have found our way through this place plenty of times."

Yolei frowned, "How on Earth did you manage that?"

The soft squeak of wet grass being trod upon preluded Ken and Wormmon appearing from the fog, causing Yolei to jump slightly in surprise.

"Practice mostly," Ken said. "Though there was a time Wormmon and I were stuck in here for nearly an entire day."

"We were afraid we were gonna have to eat Ken's boots," Wormmon said.

"Well you could've told us that before we came in here," Hawkmon tutted. "We could've brought some of the snacks we procured from Yolei's store!"

Ken smirked, "Don't worry, we won't be here nearly long enough for food to be a concern." He held out a hand to Yolei, causing her to jolt once more. "Here, I'll lead the way."

Yolei felt as if she would float off the very ground she could not see at that moment. "O-Okay," She said, reaching out to place her hand in his.

As for Hawkmon, he just rolled his eyes bemusedly as he grabbed onto Yolei's back so he could follow along. Goodness me, and I thought I was supposed to be her partner, He thought sardonically.

From there, the four of them, Digimon and partners trekked through the misty wood, carefully weaving through the white-barked trees adorned with purple tinged leaves that made up the area. Not a word was spoken as they made their way, the only sounds being the slippery squeak of the grass they stepped upon, and a faint sound of twinkling, like wind chimes in an unseen breeze.

"It seems the fog is getting thinner," Hawkmon observed after a while, raising his arm to take a look at the returning gleam of his talons.

"And look, Ken!" Wormmon raised a single pink claw to point ahead. "There's the waypoint!"

Said way-point was particularly large tree a little to the left of them; a grand titan amongst all the others with several dozen leaf-laden branches spiraling towards the canopy. Around the edges of the leaves, a faint cyan glow could be seen, softly pulsating like a myriad of soft crystal lights.

"Holy cow…" Yolei lifted her gaze up to the foliage, her mouth falling open in awe.

"I know, right?" Wormmon scuttled down Ken's arm to get a little closer to the tree. "This is the biggest tree in the forest! Probably the prettiest one too if I'm being honest."

"I can't say I disagree with you there, Wormmon," Hawkmon said with a small whistle.

"You're telling me…" Yolei whispered, stepping up to the base of the tree. Her hand slipped from Ken's grip and she lifted it to the surface of the tree. When her fingertips brushed against the textured bark, a shiver ran throughout her, and when it passed, she swore she could feel a thrumming sort of beat reverberate into her palm.

"You feel that as well, don't you, Yolei?" Hawkmon queried in a whisper. Both Digimon and partner looked towards one another, with Hawkmon placing his talons against the tree as well. "There's something about this tree, something powerful, don't you agree?"

Yolei wasn't sure that's what it was. Yes there was something odd about the tree, but she couldn't exactly call it something as banal as powerful; no, there was something else about this tree. Something much more complex, encompassing even.

But she couldn't find any such word to describe the array of feelings it brought out in her, so she simply just nodded in agreement.

Maybe Ken knew something.

"Ken?" Yolei said. "What exactly is this pl—"

"URK!"

A pained gasp interrupted her question, and the awed sense of calm Yolei had been feeling warped into immediate alarm, prompting her and Hawkmon to whirl around.

"Ken!"

"Wormmon!"

Ken's teeth were clenched in an angry scowl, his previously gentle dark eyes now more akin to obsidian gems as they glared at the one holding their arm around his neck, pinning Wormmon against his temple in the force of the grapple as well.

The tall digimon glared back at Yolei, her golden muzzle and bright blue eyes creased in agitation.

"You were supposed to come here alone," The Digimon hissed to Ken, her pointed fox ears arcing back. She clenched her other hand and a glowing white shard appeared between her fingers. "You two," She held the shard against Ken's cheek as she stared daggers at Yolei and Hawkmon, "tell me who you are or else there will be consequences."

"Ken…" Yolei felt her heart drop into her stomach, and a cold panic crept into her senses, stemming any thoughts besides the danger Ken was in.

And just like that, Yolei found herself frozen before the conflict that had emerged within the mists. And given the way she had gone blank; it was anyone's guess if she would be able to surmount it.

AN: Happy belated New Year, dear readers! I hope this chapter found you well! Lemme start by apologizing for the long gap between this chapter and the last. Between all my other stories as well as my new second job, I've found myself having to scrounge for more time and energy than before. Regardless, I'm back and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! In all honesty, Yolei is one of the harder characters for me to write for so feedback would be greatly appreciated. I'll do my best to get part two of this episode out in good time, but until then, I'm afraid I'll just have to leave you wondering; will Yolei and Hawkmon be able to save Ken? Perhaps even more pressing, what awaits Tai and Matt? Find out next time, dear readers, because more adventure await in the next chapter of The Digital Paladin!

And as always, reviews and feedback are always greatly appreciated! Doubly so for the more in-depth ones!

Manegie, Staying Digital!